Evolution (21 page)

Dear Heracles,

I’m writing to you to see if you can help me find my baby. Someone has kidnapped her and taken her away to another compound. I don’t know who else to ask to help and you were kind enough to come and visit us and seemed quite taken with her. She took to you too. Remember how she gripped your finger and wouldn’t let it go?

Where is she? Is she safe? Who’s looking after her? I can’t stop worrying about her. I cry buckets very single day and am not able to sleep at night. When I look in her cot and see it empty I’m totally wrecked.

Odysseus is looking for Penny too but he’s very busy doing important things for Athene and goes off to some planet or other at the drop of a hat.

As for Osiris, no one would think he was Penelope’s father. He’s turned totally weird. Quiet and sulky. Not that I see much of him. He’s always in the gym or on the parade ground, practising for The Big Event and he sleeps in the barracks with the other warriors. Can you believe that?

Trouble is I can’t sleep and I have a job to eat a thing and just go on crying and crying.

Heracles, I’ve always admired you. You know that. I believe that if anyone can find Penelope and bring her back to me it will be you.

Please, please do what you can to help me.

Your friend,
Isis

Dear Isis,

I’d heard that your baby had been abducted and am already taking steps to try to find out where she is and return her to you.

You may be surprised to hear that I don’t think she’s been taken to another compound. I think some completes on Planet Oasis have taken her. Why? Because they believe a complete should be brought up by completes. If this is the case you can at least be sure that your baby is well cared for so you need have no worries about her welfare.

But the abductors have committed a criminal act. They have stolen the baby from her rightful mother and I’m determined that they will pay for their offence.

I want you to know that I am making the finding of your baby and returning her to you a priority. So put your faith in me and soon that lovely child will be in its mother’s arms once more.

Your friend
Heracles

Dear Heracles,

Thank you for your auto-mail. I have to tell you that I am totally knocked out by your reply and feel better already. I have faith in your power to help me.

Something else happened yesterday to make me feel better as well. Osiris resigned. I mean from the army. He’s no longer a golden warrior. Apparently he has been suffering from something called post-something-or-other syndrome, since that time he went missing. I don’t know exactly what happened. He has never wanted to talk about it and I haven’t pressed him.

Anyway, the thing is he can’t bear to even practise fighting, not even for The Big Event. He finally plucked up courage and told Durga. She was spitting mad, went bright red, and spluttered over her words.

Imagine it. She can’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to be a warrior, especially a captain.

No warrior has ever resigned before. But she has to accept it. No choice. She can’t make him fight.

Osiris no longer lives in the barracks. He lives with me. Amazing. I have to admit it will take us some time to get used to each other again. For one thing this syndrome thing is like an illness and he needs a lot of support. He’s the one who cries a lot now and finds it difficult to sleep. When he does sleep he’s totally restless and has horrendous nightmares. He groans and shouts out in his sleep and wakes up in a cold sweat, his whole body shaking. I have to be the strong one now.

It’s given me a purpose anyway. I have to help him get better for when Penelope comes back. When she’s back I’m sure everything will be perfect.

Do let me know when you have news of her and when I will see her again.

Hoping for good news soon,

Your friend
Isis

Dear Heracles,

I hope everything is going well. I’ve been a bit worried because I haven’t heard a word from you. I realise you must be busy, not just with finding my baby but also with building your city.

Osiris and I had quite a shock today. Because he is no longer a warrior we have been told that we have to move to another compound. We’re not sure where we’ll be sent yet but I think it’s for the best to make a new start somewhere else with no golden warriors strutting about to remind Osiris of the past.

He looks quite different out of his uniform in ordinary clothes. Smaller somehow. Still handsome, but not quite so stunning. One good thing, there’s no chance of him going to war again.

More news. Odysseus came to see us. He looked very tired to me. Doing too much and I told him so. He talked about Museum Oasis for ages. Went on and on about it. Osiris walked out of the cube after a while. Bored I suppose. Well, you know what Ody’s like when he gets excited about old things. But you’d think Osiris could have made an effort.

I’ve decided I’ve misjudged Ody. He does care about Penelope. Guess what? He’s going to Oasis to try to find her. I thought you’d like to know that he’s looking for her too, so that you can liase with him – is “liase” the right word? I
think it is. I looked it up. The more humanoids looking for her the better, as far as I’m concerned. I can’t wait to get her back.

Ody thinks we should go to live in C55 but I’m not keen. I’m not sure Kali would welcome us and anyway that compound is far inferior to this one. I just want to go somewhere that will be good for Penelope.

Well, Heracles, that’s my news up to date. Do let me know when you’ve got some news for me.

Yours hopefully,
Isis

Dear Ody,

Just to let you know we arrived safely. Kali actually seemed pleased to see me, treated me like a long lost friend. I couldn’t believe it. We never liked each other much before. I thought her a bossy old cow and I know she didn’t think much of me.

She showed Osiris and me round the compound. Lots of changes. I won’t describe them to you because I can show you round when you come to see us, which I hope will be soon.

Kali took us outside and there was Jaga. Then I understood why Kali was being so nice to me. She was trying to get me on her side. The two of them were trying to prove who was in charge. It reminded me of you and Brahmin bickering all the time, when you both wanted to be curator of the museum. Remember?

Jaga stood straight and tall, the all-glowing harvest queen with her long straw-coloured hair, fearfully good-looking compared with squat blue-black Kali with her dreadlocks and built-in snakes.

Jaga pointed at the fields and asked me what I thought of them.

I imagined my little Penny running in those fields and eating those rosy apples.

‘Amazing,’ I said. ‘Totally amazing.’

‘All designed by yours truly,’ said Jaga with a sideways look at Kali.

Kali put her spoke in. ‘Couldn’t have done it without me.’

‘I’m not so sure about that,’ said Jaga.

Kali turned to me. ‘My dear sister-wife tried to do the same project once before at C98. Disaster. But with me controlling her wilder ideas we’ve managed to pull it off.’

Jaga shrugged. ‘Better soil here. That’s the difference.’

‘And better management of resources.’

They went on squabbling like that for some time. Totally boring. I mean who cares?

‘Are you going to show us one of the houses in the village?’ I asked.

‘Cottages,’ corrected Kali.

Jaga strode off. ‘Follow me.’

There were about twenty of them, most of them empty. Jaga and Kali almost fell over each other to show me inside one of these little white washed buildings. I knew there was no way I intended to live inside the compound. It was a cottage or nothing.

Oh, Ody, I loved it. With a bit of my flair, it could be made into the perfect home for my family. I didn’t let my pleasure show on my face but to tell you the truth I was really made up by the thought of living there. The cottage has three cubes – two kitted out as dormos, one as a kind of private RR and place to cook, plus a lavat cube with a bath. Totally amazing.

I kept my face straight, not wanting to look too keen. I glanced at Osiris, but he wasn’t taking much interest. I kept
them waiting a bit for my decision. To discuss it with Osiris privately I said, but I knew we were going to live there. It even has an outside space of its own, called a garden. Just the thing for little Penny. I can imagine her running up and down there on the grass. And Osiris could grow things too. Vegetables. It would do him good to have a hobby.

Osiris seems to live in a bubble – a little world of his own – but that’s fine by me. It means I make all the decisions. The cottage is really cute. Ideal for our family. Have I told you that already?

All I need to make it a special place is some of that red and gold material. Have you still got some? Oh and a few ornaments. No antiques. Just a few shiny, bright objects to brighten up the place. It’s very plain at the moment – white walls and stone floors. It needs a female touch and I’m just the female to do it! I thought you, Ody, might be able to dig out some suitable bits and pieces for me.

As you see I’m feeling a bit more cheerful. I won’t be completely happy until my Penny is with us again. I can’t wait to see her and hold her and make her remember her real mother. Do you think she will remember me? It seems ages since I’ve been without her, although it’s probably only a few weeks.

Heracles is supposed to be helping to find her too, but I haven’t heard a word from him for ages. I think he’s all talk, no action. So I’m relying on you.

Take care, Granddad Ody, and bring my baby back to me. I know you’ll find a way to do that.

Your loving daughter,
Isis

Odysseus glides down the marble steps of the museum. His one eye in the centre of his triangular face and his odd way of walking attracts quite a bit of attention. Whispers, sideways looks, that sort of thing. Odysseus appears unaware of these reactions, immersed as he is in his own thoughts. He doesn’t notice me until I touch him gently on the arm and say his name. His face lights up.

‘Michael, how lovely to see you. I’ve just been looking at the reconstruction of the Sistine Chapel. The original colours were restored in 2014, you know, and we are still reaping the benefit some two hundred years later. Have you seen it?’

‘I’ve been meaning to but….’

‘Don’t put it off a minute longer. Come on. It needn’t take long. I’ll show it you.’

He grabs my arm and I find myself trotting along beside him as he sails back up the steps and into the museum. Curious looks from members of the public as they step to one side to allow us to pass. Odysseus knows his way through the museum better than I do. He winds his way past Greek and Roman statues and various Renaissance paintings until we arrive at the entrance to the chapel where he pulls up short like a skateboarder.

‘Take a deep breath in. Prepare yourself. Now, in we go.’

In he slides, looking up at the ceiling. ‘Just look at those colours! Note the burst of light, the contrasting shadows and the physicality of the figures with those bulging muscles. Michelangelo was the master – don’t you agree?’

I can’t help but be impressed. Every centimetre of the ceiling and walls sings with colour, a mystical mix of transcendental figures. Odysseus keeps up a running commentary, guiding my eye to each image and its story. His enthusiasm is infectious.

For a long time I’ve avoided coming into the museum, uneasy about the memories it conjures up; but there are no more live exhibits, humanoid or human, to disturb me.

By neglecting the museum I have been denying myself the pleasure of viewing our artistic heritage. I make a pact with myself. I will put aside a few minutes each week to explore the treasures of this amazing place.

It isn’t until we are outside again that I have a chance to tell Odysseus the good news. ‘I’m happy to be able to tell you that Father has located Penelope.’

Odysseus stops, puts his hand on my arm. ‘Really? Where is she? Can we go and see her?’

‘No, not yet. It’s not that simple. But she’s safe, Odysseus, and well looked after.’

‘But when can I take her back to Isis?’

His hands keep clutching his robe. I sit him down on the bench in the Plaza to calm him down.

I tell him what Father has found out. Orlando Wolfe’s sister, Jessica, and her husband, unable to have children of their own, have wanted to adopt for some time. When Wolfe found that Isis’s baby was a complete he was determined to acquire her for his sister.

‘As you know, we forestalled him by taking Isis and the baby back to Earth.’

‘We had the right forms, did everything legally,’ says Odysseus, ‘so how could this happen?’

‘They abducted her. I have no idea how. Once she was here no doubt Wolfe was able to wangle some sort of permission for Jessica and John Hutton to keep her. Whether real or fake I don’t know.’

‘We had the right papers,’ Odysseus repeats.

I try to explain to Odysseus that some of the completes are not as honest as humanoids. ‘Orlando Wolfe is one of the most corrupt politicians, but he has a lot of power in the Symposium. There’s not much anyone can do to stop him.’

‘I will stop him. He’s not going to get away with this.’

‘No he is not,’ I agree. ‘And Father and I are going to help you.’

I call Father and suggest that we invite Odysseus to Home-Court that evening to work out a strategy in the privacy of our home.

Note, we’ve changed the name, dropped the Jameson, and Father is now going along with my plan to be more open about our past. We haven’t actually “come out” and announced our original status in public yet, but we’ve certainly stopped being over cautious about people knowing that we are sympathetic towards mutant humanoids.

Father sends me a reply suggesting I bring Odysseus to have to have supper with us.

Without Stella around, Father and I have taken to having our meals in the kitchen. We enjoy the informality of the new arrangement. This evening, Odysseus shares our snack of pasta and ice-cream and the three of us continue sitting round the kitchen table and brainstorm what we can to do to get Isis’s baby back to her.

‘Whatever is done must be done legally with the adoptive parents’ consent,’ Odysseus says. ‘Without official sanction
Isis would never feel safe. She’d always be afraid the baby would be snatched back again.’

Father agrees. His plan is to make a moving speech in the Symposium, to expose Wolfe, bring all the facts of the case into the open and insist on an immediate vote. ‘I’m sure I could persuade my colleagues to vote in favour of returning the child.’

Odysseus exchanges a look with me. We both know a speech, however articulate and impassioned, will not suffice.

‘It’s too risky,’ I say. ‘Suppose the Symposium votes against the motion. What then?

‘We need to come up with a foolproof strategy, affirmed by lawyers,’ Odysseus says. ‘Now, tell me, Michael, how do you think Wolfe and his colleagues have justified their actions?’

‘By saying that they don’t think it fair to the child – a complete – to be brought up on Earth by mutants.’

‘So – this Jessica and John Hutton – only want this child if she is a complete.’ Odysseus looks thoughtful. ‘If Penelope proved not to be a complete after all, you think they’d be willing to give her up?’

‘I can’t think of any completes who would willingly bring up a mutant humanoid,’ says Father. ‘Not at present.’

‘But she is definitely a complete,’ I burst out. ‘The best doctors in Hos-sat examined her. Dr Carter, the obstetrician and Mr Spencer, the surgeon.’

‘But suppose there was an oversight, that we could prove that a mistake was made….’ Odysseus leans forward eagerly.

‘Those doctors don’t make mistakes,’ I reply. ‘But, hang on a minute….’

A sudden flash, a reminder of the conversation I had with Stella when she tried to persuade me to have a vasectomy. The one thing she was terrified of was that I would father a mutant. Isn’t it likely that every complete would feel the same?

‘But we could point out to the adoptive parents that, because the child’s biological parents are mutants, there is the distinct possibility – let’s say a probability – that, their adopted daughter could give birth to a mutant humanoid. If they understand that their grandchildren are likely to have mutations, that might be enough to make them have second thoughts about wanting to keep the child.’

‘Brilliant, Michael,’ says Odysseus. ‘I think you’ve cracked it.’

Father gave me such a proud look that I felt the blood rush up my cheeks.

‘We just need a signed document from a doctor to state that this is a probable outcome and – abracadabra – we’re in business!’ Odysseus mimes the waving of a magic wand.

An old proverb comes to mind. I am going “to hoist Stella with her own petard.” She has been afraid I would father a mutant. Now she and Wolfe and his sister, the adoptive mother, will have a similar worry.

Father wastes no time contacting his lawyer, Mr Arnold, and our plan starts to become reality.

A quick summary of what we did next.

The three of us, plus Mr Arnold, make another trip to Hos-sat and relate the situation and our proposed solution to Mr Spencer. He prepares a document explaining that future generations of Penelope will, in all probability have mutations. He signs it and Doctor Carter and the solicitor, countersign it.

I suggest that Father, Odysseus and I should accompany Mr Arnold when he presents the family with the document.

Mr Arnold disagrees. ‘Not a good idea, Michael. Better to avoid a confrontation. I will arrange for the interested parties to come to my office and deal with the matter on my
own. I assure you I will do my best to make certain of the right result.’

Mr Arnold makes an appointment for a day or two later. For us the wait seems never ending.

At last he summons us to his office and tells us what transpired.

He explained to the assembled family, including the parents and Orlando Wolfe, that when their adopted daughter grew up and had a baby herself, the likely outcome was that he or she would have mutations.

Wolfe said this was some sort of trick to get the baby back. Even when he perused the signed the documents he said he was far from satisfied and insisted on getting a second opinion from his own doctors and lawyers. This would entail another long waiting period while Wolfe procrastinated.

But the damage was already done. Doubt had been planted in the minds of the adoptive parents.

At first Jessica became hysterical and said she would not give up her baby. Her husband, John, horrified by the thought that some mutant genes lay dormant in the tiny body ready to emerge in a future generation, took a different view.

He asked his wife outright if she was really strong enough to face the consequences. ‘Imagine how you would feel if our grandchild had three eyes or an extra arm.’

Once these images had been planted in her mind, Jessica became even more hysterical. Mr Arnold admitted it was quite distressing. Obviously the mother had bonded with the baby and couldn’t bear to part with her, but John Hutton told Mr Arnold that his wife was very highly strung and had recently been suffering from growing paranoia about whether the baby was really a complete or not. She’d had horrendous nightmares in which the child developed
“terrible abnormalities” as she grew older. Medically they were assured there was no basis for this supposition. But the nature of Jessica’s fear meant that the latest news about the possibility of mutations appearing in the next generation was too much for her to handle.

No matter how often Orlando Wolfe said they should get a second opinion on the veracity of this medical prediction before making such a decision, the parents were adamant that they couldn’t live with this uncertainty hanging over their heads. And as DNA technology was no longer available absolute proof of the existence of mutant genes was impossible to ascertain, just as it was when I was arrested.

Finally they said they couldn’t keep the child and wished to sign the agreement to return the baby immediately.

Mr Arnold said Orlando Wolfe’s face was a picture. Purple-faced with anger he stormed out of Mr Arnold’s office.

Today the necessary papers and the baby are to be handed over to Odysseus to take back to Isis.

Before I get all weepy and sentimental, I’d just like to say, without being too bigheaded, that I am proud of what we achieved. My first piece of negotiation between Oasis and Earth has gone well.

All it took was a kind of think-tank of three, sitting round a kitchen table, to work out a viable plan. Odysseus knew we needed doctors and a lawyer to make it work and Father proved himself willing to put his career on the line to fight for what he believed was right. As for me, well, if Stella hadn’t told me I mustn’t father a child because it might be a mutant, I might never have come with the idea that proved the key to claiming Penelope back. Congratulations all round are in order, in my not so humble opinion.

An added bonus was that we defeated Orlando Wolfe.

It is Father’s suggestion that I go with Odysseus to return the baby to Isis. I can’t believe my luck. I can’t wait to see Isis’s face when she sees Penelope again.

I’m so excited about my first trip to Earth since living on Oasis that I can hardly sleep. Excited and nervous. Why nervous?

Because I learn that Dionysus and Isis have moved out of C98 and are now in C55, the compound where I was brought up.

I am going to see Kali again, the only mother I’ve ever known. I can’t wait to see her, but am afraid that she might not want to see me.

After all, I abandoned her, left Earth without telling her, without saying goodbye, and I haven’t contacted her since. I have no idea if she will forgive me or not.

It’s four years since I left Earth. I may not have grown much taller but I’m a different person now, physically a complete, but emotionally still part mutant humanoid.

I’ve experienced things Kali couldn’t begin to imagine. It was out of loyalty to my father that I have never contacted Kali. Now, with my father’s blessing, we are to meet once more. I’ve no idea what sort of greeting to expect.

It is Jaga, not Kali, who greets us as we step out of the transporter. My heart beats fast against my chest. Could it be that Kali doesn’t intend to see me?

Odysseus, with Penelope cradled in his arms, looks as if he will never stop smiling. We walk at Jaga’s side through the compu-centre, but there are only one or two humanoids sitting at the workstations. No Kali. I wonder where she is. Jaga leads us outdoors to what was the wilderness.

A profusion of colour assails us. Fields of golden wheat,
orchards full of oranges, lemons and red and green apples, and a little village with whitewashed cottages surrounded by banks of brightly coloured flowers. The members of C55 are working in the fields.

Jaga guides us to one of the cottages and knocks on the door. Isis opens it.

As soon as she sees Penelope she gives a little cry. Her eyes fill with tears as Odysseus transfers the baby with great care from his arms to hers.

I too feel tears threatening to appear I’m so moved to see them together again.

Osiris hovers in the background. Isis walks up and down rocking Penelope, unable to take her eyes off the little bundle in her arms. Odysseus continues to beam with pleasure.

I turn away trying to control my tears. I’d no idea this reunion of mother and child would affect me so much. I suppose my emotions are all mixed up with the disappointment of Kali not being there to greet me.

Isis looks up from the baby at last and sees me the first time. ‘Mercury! You’re here too. Thank you, thank you so much for all you’ve done to get my baby back.’